§ 20. Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current level of unemployment in Wisbech for those aged (i) 18 years and under, (ii) 21 years and under for (a) boys and (b) girls; and what percentage of each of these groups has never had a job.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 15 January, the latest date for which an age analysis is available, there were 213 males and 159 females aged 18 years and under registered as unemployed in the Wisbech employment office area. Of these, 28.2 per cent. of males and 38.4 per cent. of females had not entered employment since completing full-time education. Similar information for those aged 19 to 21 is not available. The hon. Member will recall that last November I announced a major expansion of the youth opportunities programme to provide up to 440,000 opportunities for the young unemployed in 1981–82.